New Year’s Resolution Alternatives
The end of the year is nearly upon us and like so many, we can’t wait to leave 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic well and truly behind us!
But like every year before this one, many of us start thinking for the year ahead and creating New Year’s Resolutions. Resolutions can be great, but they can also put us under unnecessary pressure to complete large and ambitious goals.
Though the future is looking brighter for 2021, there is still a lot of uncertainty in almost every part of our lives; things like work, financial and physical health, travel or even leaving the EU, to name but a few. It can feel like making large changes or creating plans beyond just one day to the next foolish or ill-fated.
Large and ambitious goals might seem a good idea, but it is easy to become demoralised and stop, so our Graphic Design and Marketing team wanted to share some positive alternatives that you can do to replace the usual New Year resolutions:
A jar for positive moments, blessings or gratitude
Write down a moment that made you happy or grateful, or that you want to remember on a piece of paper and put it in a jar. Gather these moments up over the year and at the end of 2021, open the jar and read all the good and joyful things that happened to you that year!
Here is a link to some ideas!
Creative Journal Keeping
This is not a diary. This can be anything you want it to be. Think of it like a happiness scrapbook. Keep ticket stubs, photos, doodles, an article or meme that made you laugh, or a message from a friend that you want to remember. Arrange them on a page and stick them down, add you own elements, like writing or a drawing.
Try and focus on the moments that made you happy. You can do this everyday, or just when you want to, the idea is to make it an enjoyable experience and a fun creative task. At the end of the year, you will have a lovely book to flick through and remember all the good things/moments that happened in your year.
If you don’t want to start with a blank page, you can pick up journals to help you get exploring this technique in fun, silly and creative ways. What is great about a lot of these books, is that they allow you to follow the rules or break them! Here are a few of Kaye’s favourites:
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel
Bullet Journal - Available at both large and independent stationery suppliers however, Kaye likes www.papier.com
Let words guide the way…
Frame your year by giving yourself just one theme or word, like “Adventure or Creativity, etc. ” - then, when opportunities, and decisions arise during the year, use your word as a guide for determining your course of action.
“Never eaten squid before. Try it! It will be an adventure!”
If you don’t want one word for the whole year, why not have one for each month or each season. The changing of focus might help keep things fresh, exciting, and motivating!
If applying your word to your decisions seem too hard, instead think of activities you can do to explore that word.
Some of our favourites include;
Simplify
Joy
Action
“Having a goal or a plan that is obtainable for the new year is great for mental health and motivation. Small victories mean a lot and help motivate us to do more and keep ourselves occupied throughout the year.
Happy new year!”
